What's Left of Us

The Lab

A/N: Long chapter, hope anyone that still reads enjoys!

Eleven stirred in her sleep, but not enough to wake anyone. Nobody knew the nightmare she was living through in her head, and as her dream raged on into the night, the more it seemed like a scary reality.

Eleven approached a giant concrete wall, she couldn't see what was on the other side, but she could hear her friends. She heard Lucas and Max arguing, and Dustin explaining some crazy invention to Will, and then she heard Mike. It was impossible not to pick up his voice, even if she couldn't see him she knew it all too well, after all that was the boy she loved with all of her heart. She began walking towards the wall, trying to figure out how to get to them, when she realized she was in a concrete box. Her anxiety began to rise as she pounded on the walls trying to get to them, she panicked,

Why couldn't they hear her? She could hear them

And then she heard someone behind her, as if he approached out of nowhere, or appeared out of thin air.

"You're not like them you know, you never will be child" Dr. Brenner said, walking towards her

Suddenly all of the feeling rushed out of El's body, she began panicking more and more, beating on the wall, trying anything to get to her friends and away from him

"You might as well give up, they can't hear you. Nobody can." he continued, "You think you've found a home with those friends and with that boy you cherish so dearly but, you haven't, the reality is that no matter how long you live you will always be a danger to those you love" he was practically face to face with her at this point.

"All those powers, gone, and nothing you can do to get them back, you were always weak without me Eleven. I told you that you are very very sick." Brenner was mocking her at this point, and Eleven began to cry

"No. No, no, no GO AWAY" she shouted at him, her voice cracking as she screamed "I hate you, I HATE YOU" but even as she screamed, the voice was lost in the void that filled the room.

"I'll be waiting" Dr Brenner finished, and then faded away as mysteriously as he had entered her dream. At that moment, all the life began to drain out of her and she shot up. Only this time, she was laying in a tent and back in her normal world, not in some box locked away from her friends. She had Mike's watch on and it read 1-2 -1-4, she knew they would be leaving for the lab in a couple hours and decided to get up quietly and see if she could go get Mike. As she snuck outside she saw Mike laying by a tree and she considered whether or not she should even wake him up.

Before she could change her mind, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Max with her finger to her lips, and she motioned towards the trees, signaling to go on a walk.

As they walked through the forest, they began talking. Max asked Eleven why she was awake and out of the tent. They walked slowly talking and taking in the quietness of nature in the dead of the night.

"So you had a nightmare?" Max asked, trying not to sound too uninterested

"Yes, about Papa, and you all" Eleven responded, "In the dream, I was away from you all, and I could not get you all to help. He told me that I would never get my powers back and that I would never really be one of you all"

"But you know that's not true, especially with us, we will always be here for you. I mean Mike may never leave you alone a single day in your life again" Max said, obviously laughing and smiling at the Mike part. Eleven began to feel better, the more they talked the more she talked about some of the fears that had been worrying her.